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Tulo Streetrat
Human male, born LY 881, in Triscot. Street rat, informant, idea man. Tulo (pronounced to͞ol·ō) came from nothing; a long line of it. But he was always clever, always full of ideas. As a child, he would often hide outside whatever areas he could find where lessons were being taught to other students by hired masters, learning all he could. Sometimes, he would steal books to read (usually from libraries). In spite of his natural intellect and ever-increasing knowledge, it remained virtually impossible for a street rat such as himself to acquire a proper job, a fact which he deeply resented. However, he was always good at blending into crowds, and observing people without being noticed. This led to his eventually getting a job as a spy for InterGang, when it was first being founded in 899. It was in this capacity that he became acquainted with Macen Illustri, in 901. Macen respected Tulo's intelligence and his constant efforts to better himself, and the two young men became friends, of a sort (naturally, Macen had difficulty accepting a street rat as a true equal). Tulo was one of many contacts Macen made in the course of his travels, with each of whom the noble stayed in occasional contact over the years (it was a bit more convenient with Tulo than some, as he happened to live in Macen's home village). Tulo came up with a number of ideas that he passed on to Macen, who in turn passed them on to other people. (Some of these ideas would in fact turn out to have a profound impact on the course of history.) In this way, Tulo proved his worth, and became an informant in the spy network that Macen established during and after the war. At this point, Tulo was finally being paid enough to live as something other than a street rat; and in fact, he did obtain modest yet comfortable lodging for himself, as well as more frequently bathing, laundering his clothes, and eating better. However, he did his best to maintain the guise of a street rat, a position which afforded him better opportunities, in many cases, for his work as a spy, than he would have had if he appeared to be as successful as he had now become. (Of course, he was far from rich; at best he was lower middle class, and felt it important to save as much money as he could for the future.) In 912, he used his acquaintance with The Vole to keep tabs on the organizing of street rats in Triscot, following a meeting between the Vole and Tiejo Streetrat. He kept Macen informed of the organization's actions for a few months, but in early Su'yet, his connection to Macen was discovered by the street rat community, and so he had no choice but to give up his guise as a rat. This came about the same time as Macen's death, and so he no longer had an employer, anyway. But by now he had enough money that he could set himself up in a respectable position. However, he felt it would no longer be safe for him to continue living in Triscot, and so he moved to First Village. He works as an idea man, something he's often done as a pastime, without compensation. But now, people pay good money for his ideas. It is believed that an idea of Tulo's in 912 served as the inspiration for magical cameras, though this came before he began selling ideas. He is popularly credited as having conceived of the Sylph Swarm, in 914, though it is unclear whether there's any truth to this. See also *Macen's spies Category:People